Friday, March 20

Mar 20.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Oahu, last full day here (I hope)

Up since 1:30am, out of bed since 2:15. Difficulty sleeping, concentrating, focusing on writing. Yesterday really a nearly total waste, just dealing with Kona rental agreement (big island of Hawaii has some unique rules for extended stays via AirBnB), exchanges with our host there, trying to figure out if we can get groceries there…Will likely do some shopping here before we depart tomorrow, just try to stuff whatever we can into our bags. Packed scuba gear yesterday; we have enough room for some groceries, that’s not a worry.

I suspect that if I could stop listening to the news, I could blissfully focus on writing, but the situation here and everywhere else (yesterday’s CA proclamation that all should shelter in place, e.g...

Thursday, March 19

Mar 19.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Oahu, day 5

Curfews announced on Kauai (not here); as on the mainland, no gatherings of more than 10, so restaurants, etc., are closed except for takeout/delivery. Flights to Kauai no longer available for non-essentials… So far not the same news for the big island, where we’re to fly on Saturday.

sunrise

US gov’t now to tell citizens to come home or stay put; EU has closed borders to non-essential travel. Not sure how panicky people are in different areas, but here the few people we do encounter all are remaining quite calm and kind.

A day pretty much spent in the apt., watching wetsuits dry, and connecting with family/friends to just stay in touch.

Wednesday, March 18

Mar 19.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Oahu, day 4

Awoke in Waikiki for a morning dive. The first of two dives was a great distraction from everything going on. Wed descended to an area with two wrecks (Yo 257 and the San Pedro ) just a few hundred yards apart, and no sooner did we get to the deck of the wreck than we saw turtles lounging on the deck, and three spotted sting rays gently swimming by. We swam through this wreck a bit, though at this depth (about 90’), we really could only stay there about 30’. [Some very pretty views of turtles, sting rays, and a school of barracuda…alas, condensation on the inside of filter (easily fixed, but i just didn’t notice) made gopro shots useless.]

As we were the only divers on this trip, and we were on enriched air (36%), we had a pretty brief surface interval (30’) and ...

Tuesday, March 17

Mar 18.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Oahu, day 3

Came to Waikiki for a few dives; seems effective in terms of being pretty isolated from people, and only leaving the room to dive, so… We did enjoy a dive to the Sea Tiger wreck which, as it turns out, was the very first dive site here in January. It’s a small ship, but teeming with life, so very enjoyable. Highlights included tons of Angel Fish, a pretty large moray eel, and yet another friendly, and huge, pufferfish.

So very many living around the Sea Tiger

moray, from above, right in the center of the screen

Pattie and the Angels…

another puffer friend

The second dive was nice enough, a reef that was a bit quiet and uninspiring. Following the dives, just back to the isolation of the hotel room until Wednesday morning’s dive.

Monday, March 16

Mar 16.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Monday, March 16

Oahu, day 2

No sleep last night. Lying awake, I listened to the news…11pm here is 5am EST, so just a ton of bad news to hear and digest along with everyone else. Europe in such bad shape just now. Schools being closed everywhere, here and abroad; restaurants closing, as well. Then the market opened and completely tanked.

Emails/texts from friends in NYC and San Diego came in: craziness, instability, uncertainty, anxiety, fatigue…everywhere, everything is so up in the air.

A few hours into the day, now reading that the EU is working on a travel ban similar to the one the US instituted last week...

Sunday, March 15

Mar 15.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Oahu/Hau’ula, day 1

Serious rain today, until about 3pm, kept us inside but enjoying the view of the storm from our perch on the 6^th floor. We slept well, a bit of a surprise given the bedroom is just big enough to fit the full size mattress. But we were, indeed, comfortable, and grateful for that. I spent the morning doing only a little writing, instead going down the rabbit hole of today’s news. NC schools closing; NYC schools closing; France and Spain on lockdown; Ciaran wrote in an email that he’s had to close two of their pubs in Dublin; news now just in that NC is closing restaurants and bars. Like a dystopian movie.

[Really afraid that we’ll not get to fly on Saturday.]

Was very glad to catch up with family via phone today...

Saturday, March 14

Mar 15.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Kaua’I to Oahu

Leaving Kaua’I today, and a bit sad to do so. We came to like these accommodations, and the island in general. We liked the apt up here in Princeville, and the diving down south in Poipu, and really enjoyed our two weeks here.

Our original plan would make today a trip to Oahu for our final week before heading back to the mainland. Instead, we’ll be there for a week and then, as long as there’s no block on flying, we’ll head to Kona for a month in leiu of NC and then Europe.

We found the Kaua’i airport (LIH) a little bit hectic, and were a bit surprised at some changes in procedures, however informal. Our check-in bags were not weighed, and i was simply instructed to “put the bag over there with others going to HNL...

Friday, March 13

Mar 14.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Kauai/Princeville, day 13

While the past week has really been one to remember, today brought us to pull the plug on lots of our travel plans and reconfigure the next weeks. We’ll go to Oahu tomorrow, as originally planned, looking forward to some activities there, including a few days of diving. But rather than return east via SF—was looking forward to a visit with Glenn in El Cerrito, as it’s been so long since we’ve seen him—we’ll take the quick trip to Kona, and stay there until mid-April.

The most significant part of our planned travels during this period was a three month stay in Dublin. We’d planned to begin the trip by touring Ireland, then enjoy short hops around many different spots in Europe where we’ve dreamed of visiting...

Thursday, March 12

Mar 13.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Kauai/Koloa, day 12

This morning’s dive was with a fun group of divers. A medi-vac helicopter pilot, former military, from PA, whose wife’s expecting (so she didn’t join us) was a super nice guy. An American Airlines pilot who, together with his friend of many years, was a hoot always ready with a good one-liner. His friend, likely well into his 70s, learned to dive at 60 (I guess our learning in our late isn’t so odd), and has now broadened his CPA life to include being a scuba instructor. And the final person on the trip was a gent from Humboldt County, CA who’d been diving with Fathom Five for decades. He was the serious photographer on this dive—almost every dive has one, it seems—and was a nice guy to round out the day’s trip.

Tons to see re this trip, so p...

Wednesday, March 11

Mar 12.2020 / Ed Jacobs/ / Setting off.

Kauai/Koloa, day 11

Unsurprisingly, another wonderful dive day with Fathom Five down in Koloa. As the world’s anxiety-producing news swirls around us, and it is absolutely getting more alarming every day, we headed out for a morning shore dive at Koloa Landing. A small group of four of us enjoyed this fabulous site, a horseshoe shaped reef; the left side on the first dive, the right side on the second dive.

The dive was an easy, shallow one, with lots of good viewing—particularly a pufferfish, a boxfish, a barracuda hanging above a bait ball, trumpetfish, and an extremely friend wrasse that followed us through most of our dive, coming very close and seemingly wanting to be pet!